By Dayo Johnson, Akure

In a bid to eradicate hunger and enhance the economic development of the country, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has trained youths in Ondo state on livestock farming.

The training was aimed at creating job opportunities and enhancing food security through agriculture and fish breeding.

Speaking with the youths in Akure, the Ondo state capital, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Dr Zaccheus Adedeji, said the training was aimed at empowering Nigerian youths to achieve financial freedom by expanding the tax net and exporting poultry products from Nigeria across the globe.

Represented by Mrs Benedicta Akpana, the Executive chairman said that the training would help the youths become entrepreneurs, further reducing insecurity and unemployment in Nigeria.

Adedeji added that the beneficiaries would, in turn, empower others, contributing to economic growth by increasing the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fulfilling their tax obligations as responsible citizens.

According to him ” We’re empowering the youth of the Southwest through agro-farming, fish farming, poultry farming, and the like. And we’ve been doing this for the last one week. We all know FIRS for always collecting. So, this is us giving back.

” Since August we’ve been on this train, we give back and we follow up because we believe that when you train a farmer, you feed a nation. So this is to help us grow our agricultural sector.

“In the same vein, we grow our GDP as a country. If you learn this properly, you grow with this. You also employ other people because agriculture is paramount in every society.

” Food surplus is what we are looking at. And this poultry farming we have done this in Oyo, Osun and other southwest states and now we are in the Sunshine State, precisely in the city of Akure.

“We will come back to follow up with this, to know how you are faring, and how you’ve been able to manage the resources that FIRS is supporting with because, of course, you will pay your taxes at the end of the day, which is our goal.

“Because by the time you grow your poultry farm, you employ more people, you become a responsible citizen, and responsible citizens pay their taxes.

“So that’s why we are here. As we begin, I pray that you learn and also become useful to yourselves and society.

“This way, we reduce the rate of unemployment in society and become self-sufficient because we know that the government cannot employ everybody. We have to do it for ourselves.

“Also, the government is here to support us to do for ourselves, and FIRS is here to support you to grow your poultry farming, your fish breeding, and the like.

“All thanks to Zaccheus Adedeji, our Executive Chairman, for giving back to the society.

Also speaking, the convener of the training, Femi Oludare Rowland, said the major objective of the empowerment was to enhance food security, provide job security, and eradicate hunger and poverty among the people.

Rowland said that “This whole initiative is proudly sponsored by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

” The aim is to raise a better farmer out there because we discover that most of our youth now run away from poultry, run away from fish breeding, and some other livestock animal breeding just because they felt that maybe the economic condition of the community right now and the economy of the state at large.

” This has not encouraged them to go into the business. After all, when you look at the cost of raw materials, cost of feeds, and cost of some other things, people chicken out.

“They could not maintain it. So, people are now rushing into tech, but we find out that, okay, what kills great farms is not because of just the economy alone.

“One is management practice and the ability to scale up at a particular time needed, at a particular time.

“So, we now have a great opportunity, thanks to the FIRS for giving us support to empower them, our youth most especially.

“Not just startups, but people that have started, but in a little way, just to have a pull, not only necessarily by push but a pull so that they can do much better. And so that’s why we are here in the city of Akure.

“I believe that at the end of these two days, we have a lot of great facilitators who are here to mentor and train us. And we are not only doing that, we are making this particular farm an incubation centre where people can come, they get themselves trained, and to become a better view of themselves thereafter, after the empowerment, so that they can go and set up, also employ others.

” I believe that at the end of these two days, it’s going to be a time that is going to be worth it, and we believe that the youth are going to do well and give their best. Big thanks again to the Federal Inland Revenue Service for this great opportunity and for the youths.